A World of Music AU
by KingHerod
Summary: 16-year-old Byakuya is a musical prodigy, and starts in the same high school class as Renji, who's an amateur singer.  Renji falls for the unsocial and strange boy, and wants to pull him out of the secluded and closed "sphere" he's placed himself in...
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"Kuchiki Byakuya!" the headmaster cried, and a boy on fifth row raised his hand in acknowledgement. The headmaster looked in his direction.

"Good! You're in class MDM1-A. Kamiya Kaoru!" The headmaster continued to cry out names and classes, but only about half of the new students listened. Byakuya tried to ignore their stares, but it was quite difficult.

'Great,' he thought to himself. 'First day in senior high, and already they look at me like I'm Harry Potter or something…'

When the headmaster had held his speech and everyone followed their new homeroom teachers to their classrooms, Byakuya was secretly relieved to be out of that room.  
Thankfully, MDM1-A proved to be a very small class, with only 15 pupils, and they didn't even share all subjects. The Drama and Music class were together in everything but the drama and music subjects, where they were divided. Rune was a music student, along with 8 other 16-year-old boys and girls.

He wanted to sink through the floor when he realized every single member of his class already knew him.

One of them, a tall, broad-built boy with long, unruly red hair in a wild ponytail, walked up to him and looked him up and down for a few seconds before smiling widely at him and grabbing his hand, shaking it with such force Byakuya was a little worried he'd hurt his hand.

"So ye're that child prodigy ev'ryone's talkin' 'bout, eh?" he asked. Byakuya only blushed and gave a small nod. The giant boy smiled even wider, showing all his teeth.

"Nice! I'm Abarai Renji. Ya can just call me Renji, though." Byakuya smiled. "Ya know, I never imagined ya'd be so shy. I mean, ye're FAMOUS, right? I've seen ya on TV. Ya play solo concerts for thousands of people! How can ya be shy?" Renji looked very curious, as did the rest of their fellow classmates. Byakuya blushed a little more, but since this was actually a question, it required an answer. He sighed.

"Well, Abarai-san, when playing, it's like the audience doesn't even exist. All that matters is the music. But while I may be good with music, I'm not so good with people. Not good at all, in fact…" he said quietly, looking at the floor.  
He wanted so desperately to get away from all these people! He didn't mind people in general; just when they were this many at once and he didn't have any music to hide behind. Sadly, he had to go to school, even if he could already live from writing and playing music.

Byakuya was not a very social person.

Renji frowned as he noticed how uncomfortable his new friend was (Renji made friends very easily, and called mostly anyone he met his friends), and scooted him over to a desk in the backmost corner, sitting down beside him. Byakuya obligingly sat down on the chair there and quietly focused on his hands.  
Renji sat down beside him, but the rest of the class pretty much ignored them, just thinking that Byakuya was either a real weirdo, or that being famous had gone to his head.

Renji followed Byakuya's gaze down to his hands, and was taken with their pale, fragile-looking beauty at once. Those were most definitely musician's hands. They looked like they'd never held anything heavier than a violin bow.

He looked up at his face again, and caught his breath. Byakuya was frowning slightly, and it made his brow furrow adorably. Renji knew he was gay, but he'd never believed in love at first sight, and had never imagined he'd fall in love the first day at the new school.

He realized immediately that there was no way he could tell him right away; hell, he didn't even know if Byakuya was into guys! But damn, was he a beauty, with his long, straight black hair, pale face and fine hands… And his eyes looked so…melancholic? Renji wasn't sure how to describe it, but he was absolutely captivated with the boy. He sighed inwardly.

Renji decided there and then that while he may not get to take him to bed any time soon, or even kiss him, he'd at least get that melancholic look away!

Two weeks later, Byakuya was the only one who still called Renji Abarai-san, and not just Renji. It both charmed and annoyed him that Byakuya was so formal, even after two whole weeks!

Byakuya seemed to talk as little as possible, and even in class, he only raised his hand to answer a question if it was clear nobody else was going to, and then only in the music classes. Oh, yeah, and sometimes math. Byakuya was far from INTERESTED in math, but he understood it very well.

After two weeks, it was almost time for the class' first house concert. It was just going to be an informal little thing, as the teachers wanted to gauge the level of skill and cooperation in the music class, and they had played together in groups where they had to play the instruments they had chosen as their main one when they started the school year, so Byakuya played violin in his group.

Byakuya's group otherwise included a shy girl singing soprano with a voice so thin and full of air that Byakuya literally had to bite his tongue not to start criticizing her for it (in which case she'd probably stop singing altogether and start to cry as Byakuya wasn't very mild in his criticism), a pretty good jazz pianist and a bassist who looked like he hadn't slept in weeks. He was decent enough on the bass, though.

They played Mozart's Lullaby, which was quite simple for everyone except the piano-girl, who just wasn't any good with classical music. Byakuya gave her a few quick instructions, however, and she managed herself. He almost made even her cry, though. Byakuya had already admitted to not being any good with people, and he was not a very patient teacher.

Renji felt sympathy for Byakuya; the boy was used to playing very advanced music with professional orchestras, and now he was forced to play with amateurs who, in some cases, had not had a single decent music lesson before now.

He knew that Byakuya had two more engagements for the house concert – he had agreed to accompany Renji on a song he was singing, so there he was playing piano, and then he was going to play a solo-piece himself, Violin Partita no. 2 by Bach, better known as "Chaconne".  
It was a very difficult piece that they very rarely heard in high school (at least this school), but when Renji confronted him with this, asking him if he only did it to show off, Byakuya had looked mildly shocked at the suggestion.

"To 'show off'? Honestly, Abarai-san! I don't 'show off'! I just want to play at least ONE piece I can't sleep through!" was all he'd answered, looking like that was the most obvious thing in the world.

Renji realized then that Byakuya was, indeed, a little arrogant, but then again… He hadn't really been a part of the real world since he was about four years old… Renji was amazed that someone (Byakuya) could seem amazed and shocked that a normal 16-year-old wasn't able to play Rachmaninov's piano concerts by heart.

One day, during the lunch break, Renji went looking for Byakuya, thinking they should rehearse a little, if not for Byakuya's sake, then for his own, and he found him in the classroom, bent over his homework. Renji stepped closer and snapped the paper he was writing on, and frowned. Byakuya sighed and straightened.

"Ye're workin' on the English essay already?" Renji asked. Byakuya closed his eyes and nodded.

"Yes. Now, give it back. I have to hand it in before class." Renji frowned and looked down at the pale and annoyed face. God, Byakuya was cute when he was annoyed…

"But it ain't due till Tuesday! It's only Friday, Byakuya!" He really couldn't understand why he seemed so stressed about it.  
"I'll bet most of the class won't finish till Monday night or Tuesday mornin'… Why the hurry?" Byakuya sighed - obviously trying to muster some patience – and massaged his temples.

"Yes, Abarai-san, but most of the class don't have concerts both Saturday and Sunday, nor do they have a string septet to finish till Monday – on top of their other homework!" towards the end of the sentence, Byakuya had raised his voice a little, sounding quite stressed and even slightly panicked by the time he stopped to breathe.

Renji only stared at him, eyes wide. He couldn't imagine how stressed Byakuya must be, with all that on top of school…

'Man!' he thought. 'I can't imagine livin' like he does… Does he even know how to relax?' He just watched as Byakuya bent over the English essay again, writing like mad to finish in time.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

When the Tuesday arrived and they were supposed to hand in their essays, Byakuya didn't show up for class, and he hadn't given any message. That was most unusual for him, and Renji asked if he should go look for him, as he had been in all the previous classes. The teacher nodded and went on with her lesson.

Renji had a sneaking suspicion that he wasn't gonna find Byakuya in any of the places that would be obvious for any other student; the Hall, the library, the computer-lab… No, he went directly to the Rehearsal Rooms – a corridor filled only with music rooms, one piano in each and every one of them soundproof.

He opened one door after another, and when he came to the fifth one – the one with the grand piano - he went inside. There, leaned against the piano and even drooling a little on it, sat/lay Byakuya, his hair falling softly over one side of his face. Renji smiled when he saw how deep asleep the boy was.

'I wish I had a camera!' Renji thought, thinking he looked absolutely adorable; but then, he always thought Byakuya looked adorable. He sighed.

"Guess I've gotta wake 'im up…!" he said aloud. "Too bad. He looks like he needs the sleep…" Renji reluctantly walked over to him, careful not to step on the note sheets that were spread all around Byakuya, some of them handwritten.

Curious, he picked up one of the handwritten sheets, and noticed Byakuya's signature in the upper right corner. It obviously wasn't finished, but it looked like a pretty melody, although the notes were so tiny they were hard to read… He turned it around, and saw a poem written on the back of the sheet. His eyes widened as he read through it. It seemed to be a love-poem… Although if Byakuya wrote it, it was probably lyrics for… something. For the song on the other side, perhaps? But still… Someone as distanced as Byakuya was writing love songs?

Renji chuckled and looked at the sleeping beauty by the piano.

"Who're ya writin' this for, eh?" he asked softly, and before he knew it, he'd folded the sheet of paper and put it in his pocket. He gathered all the other papers and put them in Byakuya's schoolbag that was standing beside the piano chair.

Then, he reached out a hand and laid it on Byakuya's shoulder, shaking him lightly.

"Hey, Byakuya. Geddup, will ya? Ya can't sleep here… Should've stayed home instead…" Byakuya sat up so suddenly that Renji actually stepped back in surprise. He looked around sleepily, then noticed Renji. His eyes became wide.

"Wh-what are… Abarai-san… What are… What happened?" he asked confused. Renji just smiled.

"Nothin' much. Ya just fell asleep here and forgot to go to class. That's all. Teacher sent me to find ya." He shrugged. Byakuya looked absolutely horrified at this.

"I…fell asleep?" he asked, his voice forcibly calm. Renji nodded, smiling widely. Byakuya closed his eyes and breathed deeply.

"What time is it? How long was I asleep?" Renji shrugged.

"I dunno how long ya were sleepin', but class began like…20 minutes ago." If Renji thought Byakuya had looked horrified before, it was nothing to how he was looking now.

"20 MINUTES!" he nearly shouted and jumped up, where he swayed a little. Renji frowned and immediately placed an arm around his shoulders, steadying him.

"You should go see the school nurse, Byakuya," he said. "You don't seem so well." Byakuya shook his head.

"I will do no such thing, Abarai-san. I'm merely tired after the weekend." He sighed. "Let's get to class."

While he and Renji walked – Byakuya never ran – Renji laughed and slung an arm around his shoulders again. Byakuya stiffened, but didn't shake him off, which was more than Renji had expected. He was happy he didn't, though.

"Where were ya this weekend, by the way? I went to yer house, and ya weren't there," he asked, and was rewarded with a look from Byakuya that clearly meant he thought Renji was an idiot.

"I told you on Friday I had two concerts this weekend." Renji nodded.

"Yeah, but not where. Where were ya?" Byakuya sighed.

"Honestly, Abarai-san! Don't you read newspapers?"

"Nope," was all Renji said to that, and Byakuya sighed. Again. He did that a lot, it seemed, at least around Renji.

"I had two concerts; one in Kyoto, and one in Osaka. None in Karakura Town. I left Karakura right after school on Friday and didn't return till late Sunday night." Renji stared at him.

"And… And ya still managed to finish that…that…quartet?" he asked, sounding a little shocked.

"Septet, not quartet. But yes, it's finished. The ones I wrote it for start rehearsals today."

They had now reached the English classroom, stepped inside and found their desks.

Renji sent a note over to Byakuya.

'Since you're so busy, just tell me if there's anything you want help with. Cheating on tests included,' it said. Byakuya smiled as he read it, scribbled down an answer quickly and sent it back.

'Why, thank you, Abarai-san! I'll let you know if there's anything you can do. PS: I NEVER cheat on tests!' Renji chuckled quietly and looked over at Byakuya. Did he actually have a sense of humor?

There was just so much to find out! Thankfully, he had at the very least three years on him to 'de-mask' Byakuya. He smiled to himself and spent the rest of the period daydreaming about Byakuya.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi! Thank you to everyone who have reviewed this story so far, and have fav'ed it and subscribe to it... Since this is my first fanfic, the positive reviews really are a confidence booster, and make me want to give you more!**

**Therefore, I'll stop ranting now, and let you read the third chapter... Please leave reviews! ^^**

**Chapter 3  
**

Renji and Byakuya were just about to leave school when a third year student stopped them. Byakuya looked up at him skeptically; the boy had black, spiky hair, lots of piercings, and even a facial tattoo!

Byakuya raised an eyebrow when he saw how familiarly Renji greeted him, hugging him and – silly enough – punched his arm lightly, grinning broadly.

"Shuuhei! How've ya been?" he practically yelled, and the older boy smiled tightly.

"I've been just fine thanks. I actually came to invite you to a party Kira, Rangiku and I are having this Saturday," Shuuhei said, and Byakuya saw a spark light in Renji's eyes.

"What kind of party?" he asked, and Shuuhei snorted.

"We only arrange fun ones. You coming?"

"Course I am!" He turned to Byakuya. "Ye're comin' too, right, Byakuya?" Byakuya narrowed his eyes and shook his head.

"No thank you. I don't party. Unlike some, I have responsibilities," he said, and Renji groaned, while Shuuhei just stared at him.

"Rubbish, Mr. Busy! Ye're overworked already! Ya need to relax!" Renji said, slamming his hand down on Byakuya's shoulder. Byakuya opened his mouth and looked like he was ready to protest, but was stopped by Renji's hand suddenly covering his mouth.

"No, Byakuya! I'm not givin' ya a choice, here." He turned to Shuuhei. "He's definitely comin' with me." Shuuhei looked amused, and just nodded before leaving them.

Byakuya looked about ready to murder Renji in cold blood, and told him that he was definitely NOT coming to the party, and tried to walk past him, but Renji grabbed his arm and turned him around again.

"Come on, Byakuya! Live a little! Ye're sixteen years old, and this is just a party! Come on! Just come with me, pleeeeaaase?" he asked, giving him the biggest, wettest puppy-eyes Byakuya had ever seen. He sighed heavily.

"All right, Abarai-san, I'll go with you, but don't expect me to partake in the…festivities. I'm bringing a book," he said, and Renji glomped him, hugging him so hard he couldn't breathe. He released Byakuya after a couple of seconds, though. Byakuya gasped for breath, and if looks could kill, Renji would probably lie dead at his feet.

The rest of the week, Renji could barely think about anything but the party, and he often forgot the lyrics to the song he was singing at the house concert. As his pianist, Byakuya was slowly losing his patience. When Renji's voice trailed off for the umpteenth time during a half-hour rehearsal, he finally exploded, got up and slammed his hands down on top of the piano.

"Abarai-san! If you don't pull yourself together this instant, I won't do this!" he shouted, shocking Renji out of his daydreams. He stared at Byakuya with wide eyes.

"But Byakuya…! The party's in two days! How can I concentrate on anything else?" he tried to excuse himself with, but Byakuya just shook his head.

"That may be, but the house concert is tomorrow. If you want to sing this, you get your head out of the clouds and down here. If you don't, we'll just forget this, and I can go home early." Byakuya was nearly barking at him.

Then an idea struck Renji, and he smiled.

"Hey, Byakuya… We can still leave early, but together," Renji said, and Byakuya blinked.

"Wh-what precisely do you mean?"

"Yer house, of course! We can go to yer home and rehearse! I'm sure ya have a piano there too!" Byakuya looked down at the piano at this suggestion, and Renji frowned. Was it really that unthinkable for him to bring someone home with him? After thinking for a few seconds, Byakuya nodded and collected the music sheets neatly and carefully placing them in his school bag.

"All right, then, Abarai-san. Are you coming?" he said, looking as calm as ever, and walked out the door.

Renji quickly followed him, and they left the school together.

Byakuya lived in a beautiful white villa, along with his grandfather and a younger sister. Renji wanted to ask him where his parents where, but something told him to avoid that subject for the time being. Perhaps he would tell him when he felt ready to do so.

His grandfather was a short old man with long white hair and beard and round glasses. His name was Ginrei, and seemed a very nice man, and a strict teacher. Byakuya told Renji that it was his grandfather who had made him take music lessons from the very beginning, and made him practice at least two hours every day, no exceptions. He said it with a smile, though, so while Renji didn't comprehend how anyone could LIKE to practice that much every freaking day, he realized that Byakuya did like it.

Renji mumbled something about being brainwashed, but when Byakuya narrowed his eyes at him, he grinned and shook his head.

Renji liked Byakuya's little sister much better. She was only seven years old, had straight, short black hair and big grey eyes. Her name was Rukia, and she was extremely talkative.

As soon as Byakuya had introduced Renji, she cocked her head and looked at him for a few seconds, before asking loudly if he was Byakuya's boyfriend. Byakuya blushed furiously at that and tried to tell her to shut up, but she had just continued.

"Well, he never takes guys from school here, and he's never had a girlfriend, so since you're here now, you must be his boyfriend," she said, as if that was the most obvious thing in the entire world, before running over and hugging Renji around his waist, welcoming him into the family. Byakuya had disappeared up to his bedroom, with the excuse of needing a change of clothes.

While he was upstairs, Rukia showed Renji around the house, showing him the large fireplace in the living room, where they used to sit and eat marshmallows in the winter, and pointed up to a photograph hanging on the wall directly above the fireplace.

It depicted a man and a woman standing on a bridge in what seemed to be a typical Japanese garden. They were holding hands, and both looked very happy. The man had shoulder length, black, straight hair – like Byakuya – and his eyes were very kind, and the woman had long, black hair tied in a typical Japanese fashion, and eyes just as kind. Renji understood that he was looking at Byakuya's parents. Rukia looked up at them too.

"That's Mommy and Daddy. I don't remember them, 'cause they died when I was two, and Nii-san won't tell me about them," she said, not sounding very sad at all.

Before Renji could answer, Byakuya came back, and he looked completely different than what Renji was used to, wearing only a t-shirt – at school he always wore a black button-down shirt - to dark jeans.

"Well, Abarai-san, shall we get started, then?" he asked, and Renji answered with the least intelligent thing he could:

"Huh?" Byakuya sighed.

"We only came here to rehearse, remember?" he said and walked over to the music room, which was through a pair of double doors and sat down at the piano, letting his fingers slide gently over the keys, expecting Renji to follow, which he did.

They practiced for nearly an hour, until the music filled Renji's head and he knew the whole song by heart, and then ate dinner together. After dinner, Renji and Rukia played a card game while listening to Ginrei and Byakuya play "The Devil's Trill" by Guiseppe Tartini, Byakuya on violin and his grandfather accompanying him on cembalo. It was the single most magnificent baroque piece Renji had ever heard, and it sounded extremely difficult.

While he walked home that evening, his head was filled with music and the mind-blowing sight of Byakuya's face, eyes hard and brow furrowed in concentration, his hands flying across the strings of his violin…

Renji sighed longingly. He really was in love, wasn't he?


	4. Chapter 4

_**I dedicate this chapter to Spunky0ne, who writes a LOT of ByaRen fanfiction, which is a great inspiration and a great pleasure to read in any case.**_

_**And I dedicate this to Dirnle, who's asked me again and again (ok, now I made it sound like you were nagging, which you definitely weren't!) to write more. ...She pretty much pushed me to write more, and I'm glad she did!**_

_**Please leave reviews; I'd like to know what you think. ^^**_

**A world of music, chapter 4**

"And remember, it's pronounced more like a z-sound than a normal s," Byakuya reminded Renji for what had to be the hundredth time; Renji had a bit of a hard time pronouncing some of the German words, and Byakuya the Perfectionist was having a slight panic, since it was less than ten minutes till the house concert was to start. Renji frowned at the music sheet.

"So it's s'posed ta be 'alle Zeelen..?'" Byakuya sighed.

"YES, Abarai-san! Kami, how long will it take for you to get it?" Renji just blushed and muttered something about not being a perfectionist genius like a certain someone. Byakuya just looked at him for a few seconds before shaking his head and moving away to tune his violin.

When he finished tuning it, he found the sheets to "Chaconne" and plucked here and there on the strings. He knew it very well, having played it since he was 13, but it was still tricky enough that he never thought he'd practiced enough. Suddenly, a shadow fell over the paper, and he looked up into the face of Kyouraku Shunsui, one of the guitar teachers.

He was a long-haired hippie kind of man who only shaved whenever he remembered to (which wasn't very often) and had a very relaxed view on homework. All his students liked him very well, but said he was pretty weird. One of the rumours said that he'd even been caught drinking while at work, but that the school just looked another way, since it didn't affect his teaching.

This man was now standing over Byakuya and looking down at his music sheets, blinking sleepily a few times, before his eyes widened slightly in surprise.

Byakuya didn't know what to expect of this man, so he asked him if there was anything he wanted.

"...You really gonna play that, son?" Kyouraku-sensei asked, sounding very surprised. Byakuya didn't like this stranger's familial way of calling him, and frowned slightly.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I am," Byakuya said. Kyouraku chuckled and patted his shoulder.

"No need to bite, son. You sure you ain't a bit too ambitious? Ain't Chaconne a real tricky one?" he asked. Byakuya was amazed. Didn't this man know who he was? But then again... He looked at Kyouraku and sighed inwardly. It shouldn't surprise him that this shabby weirdo didn't know him, or classical music.

"It isn't very easy, no, but don't worry, sensei, I've played it before." That was all he had time to say before Ukitake-sensei, their homeroom teacher, announced that it was time for their first house concert to start.

"Now, first out today is Abarai-kun singing 'Litaney: Aller Seelen' by Franz Schubert, accompanied by Kuchiki-kun on piano," he said with his soft, gentle voice and smiled at his class, applauding as Renji and Byakuya got up to the small stage.

Renji sang quite beautifully, although the song he'd chosen really was a little too high for his voice, and Byakuya was smiling slightly, and looked out over his class – his audience – as he played. He was finally in his right element again. The song was simple and quite short and ended much too soon for Byakuya's liking.

After that, it was time for the groups to play. Byakuya performed perfectly with his group, and even the poor soprano did well enough. After that, he sat still, watching the other groups, and Renji's especially. There was just something about that boy... something that intrigued him to no end, although he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Perhaps it was just how he was so different than most people Byakuya had known till then, perhaps it was his ability to relax and have fun so much and still manage to get his work done.

Soon, it was time for Byakuya to play his solo piece. Ukitake-sensei had placed that one last on the list, since it was so long; nearly thirteen minutes.

He went up to the stage, re-tuned his violin, and began to play.

Thirteen minutes later, the classroom was still completely quiet as Byakuya lowered the violin and re-folded the music sheets. Then the applause broke out, and he bowed lightly for the small audience, before he left the stage.

Kyouraku-sensei placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled down at him.

"Seems you weren't overly ambitious, after all, kid," he said, and Byakuya raised an eyebrow.

"I told you I've played it before, sensei," he answered, before he was practically glomped by Renji.

"That was AMAZING, Byakuya!" Renji exclaimed. Kyouraku-sensei chuckled, and Byakuya just looked rather horrified.

"T-thank you, Abarai-san, but would you please get off me?" he asked.

"Oops... Sorry," Renji said, grinning sheepishly. Then he looked at his watch. "Oops! I've gotta go, Byakuya. I'll come pick ya up before the party, ok? Bye!" he said, grabbed his school bag, and ran.

Byakuya groaned. He had forgotten about the party...

..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..

Later that afternoon, Byakuya was standing in front of the large mirror in Rukia's room, scrutinizing himself. He didn't quite know what to wear to a party like this; he was more used to the tuxedo-kind of party, but Rukia had dug far into his closet and produced a black "The Killers"-t-shirt and a square-patterned pair of pants – tartan trousers, if he remembered correctly. He didn't even remember he owned such clothes.

Rukia nodded, satisfied. He smiled to her – his personal stylist.

"Am I done?" he asked her. Rukia started to nod, but then shook her head and ran to get something; her jewelry box.

Byakuya frowned and chuckled. "Rukia... I'm not a girl. I don't need any jewelry." Rukia, however, did not agree.

She found a pair of Chappy the Bunny-hair slides.

"Bend down," she ordered. Byakuya smiled and decided to indulge the little girl.

When he crouched down in front of her, she fastened the slides on the right side of his hair, holding it back. Then she took a step back and smiled.

"There! All done!"

Byakuya looked at himself in the mirror. He had to admit – however hesitantly – that he did look quite good, even though the hair slides were a tad silly.

Then he heard the door bell.

"That will be Abarai-san," he said and started to walk downstairs. Rukia, however, ran past him down the stairs and opened the door before he had a chance to say anything.

"Hello, Renji!" she greeted him happily.

Renji smiled and handed her a small bouquet of flowers.

"Here, little lady!" he said,grinning.

Then he looked up and saw Byakuya.

"Hey! I didn't know you had any cool clothes!" he exclaimed. Byakuya's eyes narrowed slightly. He didn't quite know whether that was a compliment or an insult, so he decided to ignore it.

"Shall we go, then?" he asked instead, and Renji nodded. Byakuya put on a jacket and kissed Rukia good night and left.

..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..

While they walked, Renji looked Byakuya up and down. He couldn't believe he looked so...modern! And so casual. He smirked when he saw the hair slides; it was rather obvious who had chosen them.

"Hey... Byakuya," he said. Byakuya looked at him.

"Yes?" he said when Renji didn't say any more. Renji grinned.

"Ya forgot the book."

Byakuya sighed and shrugged.

"I'm sure our host – Matsumoto-san, was it? - has one I can borrow," he said.

Renji snorted loudly. "I wouldn't bet on it, if I were you! She's not exactly the bookish type!"

..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..

When they came to Rangiku's house, they heard loud music from inside. Byakuya's eyes widened and he stopped in his tracks. "Abarai-san... That is a lot louder than the recommended level of decibels."

Renji laughed and took his hand, dragging him inside.

They were immediately assaulted by a rather busty young woman who had clearly had a bit too much to drink already.

"Heeey, Ren-kuuuun!" she shouted over the music. "Long time no see! An' you bought, oops, BROUGHT a new friend too!" she smiled seductively to Byakuya. "He's a real cootie too!"

Renji chuckled.

"Yeah. But he's taken!" he said. Rangiku pouted.

"Aww! All the cute ones are taken!" Then she let them walk past her and into the main room, where there were flashing lights, loud noise that Byakuya supposed was music, and people. Lots of people.

Renji dragged Byakuya with him to the makeshift bar.

"Abarai-san... Why did you say I was...unavailable?" Byakuya asked. Renji blushed.

"Oh...That was just to get her off yer back. So! Whaddya want to drink?" Byakuya narrowed his eyes. He didn't like that Renji changed the subject so quickly, but he looked the drinks over.

Beer, beer, vodka, more beer... He sighed.

"Don't they have anything decent here? No tea, or even a glass of some decent red wine?" he asked, a little annoyed.

Renji looked questioningly at Shuuhei behind the bar, but he shook his head.

"Sorry, Bya. It seems the others haven't got as refined a taste as ye." Renji said. Byakuya sighed.

"Then I don't want anything, thank you."

"Aww!" Renji said. "No way you're here partying and ain't gonna drink anything at all! Here," he said and handed him a cup of beer. Byakuya frowned down into the cup but accepted it and went over to a sofa group and sat down, carefully sipping his beer.

He immediately pulled a face and winced. "How in the world can you drink this!" he asked. Renji laughed and took a swallow of his own.

"It ain't that bad once you get used to it, really."

They sat in relative quiet for a while, although Byakuya had more than a few complaints about the music.

But as one cup turned into three, Byakuya had definitely loosened up a little. He was even smiling and humming along to Cascada.

Renji smiled. Byakuya was so adorable! And such a lightweight! He decided there and then that Byakuya would not get any more to drink, lest he wanted Ginrei to kill him.

At one point, a young blond man dumped down on the couch just beside them. His face had the unmistakeable red tint of those who have drunk too much, and he seemed exhausted.

"Hey, Kira-kun," Renji said cheerfully, and the blonde turned his head towards Renji and tried to focus on him with his glassy eyes.

"Hey... Never...get inna drinkin' contst wish Rang'u an' Ikkku," he slurred. He started saying something more, but a slender hand shot down and pulled him up from the couch.

"I apologize that he's bothering you, boys," the young man who pulled him up said.

When he looked at him, Byakuya felt a cold shiver go through his body. That man...there was something about him... Something indescribably creepy.

"We're going home now, Izuru," he said to Kira and literally pulled him away from Byakuya and Renji.

"Bye, bye!" he shouted back to them.

Renji and Byakuya were left wide-eyed. Then Renji explained.

"That...was Ichimaru Gin. Don't mess with him. He's a fuckin' cold, crazy bastard." He shrugged. "Kira totally worships him, though."

Byakuya just nodded, silenced by what he had seen, the alcohol and the late hour.

Renji looked at his watch. "Oops! It's already 2am! Shit..." He looked up at Byakuya, who was leaning against the back of the couch with closed eyes and smiled.

"Heh... Time to get ya home, Byakuya."

..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..

Byakuya was in no way too drunk to walk or anything; he was just a little tipsy, so when they came to his house, he turned and smiled to Renji.

"Ok, Abarai-san. Here we are now." He bit his lip. "...Thanks, I guess, for tonight." He nodded, and Renji smiled. So he HAD liked it; he just didn't want to admit it.

"So. Good night," he said and went inside without another word.

Grinning, Renji started on his way home, thinking that tonight was quite perfect. So what if Byakuya hadn't been very active at the party? He'd got him to drink beer, to hum along to techno music, and smile nearly the whole night. That was a plus.

Back up in his room, Byakuya changed into pajamas and laid down on the bed. He could already feel a headache starting, but... In a way, it had been worth it. It had been surprisingly fun to watch the other teenagers get drunk and rowdy and attempt to dance. He smirked. Even if most of them didn't have much rhythm.

He closed his eyes, and fell asleep.


End file.
